At the time of writing, the UN registered 33 million people affected by HIV/AIDS worldwide. Among the current prospects of fighting against the spread of the pandemic, several methods can be implemented: condom use, testing, needle exchange, abstinence… However, one question arises : which factors influence people in the use of one practice or another?
Making use of social marketing strategies, prevention campaigns against HIV / AIDS put the emphasis on the empowerment of individuals in relation to their risk-taking. Attempts to change some behaviours and to adopt new ones that are safer for health are then undertaken.
We evaluated three (3) prevention campaigns against HIV / AIDS in Montreal. The purpose of this research was to distinguish the elements that can facilitate the planning of campaigns that aim to decrease the incidence of HIV / AIDS.
During decision-making regarding the evaluation of a prevention campaign against HIV / AIDS, several key points have to be considered : the source of information, the message, the channel, the receiver’s characteristics and the effects desired by the campaign. These aspects are crucial in raising public awareness of the campaign. However, careful interpretation is necessary as this type of evaluation is not designed to demonstrate the efficacy of a campaign.
Our study confirms the importance of evaluating prevention campaigns in different stages of their design. This research leads us to a detailed understanding of the prevention programs and thus provides us with a good understanding of the intervention process in the future perspective of explaining their effectiveness.